Covert Cadillac Covert Ford, Remarkably Dangerous and Incompetent Repairs - Ausitn, Texas

Soon after buying a Cadillac DTS, serious electrical problems occurred.  My wife was driving down the road and the car suffered a total electrical system failure - all lights inside and out, dash gauges, etc failed.  Only the engine kept running.  She drove straight to Covert Cadillac.  They returned it the next day saying they could not duplicate the problem. 

It happened three days later on the highway - very dangerous.  We towed the car in.  They kept it for a week and said they finally found a frayed wire.  The next day the lights started flickering.  They said they could not duplicate the problem.  I found a General Motors service bulletin (#PIC4812) specifically addressing the lights flickering.  Covert still said they could not duplicate the problem. 

A total of 13 trips to the dealer for flickering lights, GPS failing, seat controls, dash gauges, unintended acceleration, yet the service tickets read "cannot duplicate customer concern at this time."  I showed the problems to the service manager myself out on the driveway, including cell phone video of the occurrences emailed to Mr. Elliot.  "Cannot duplicate customer concern at this time."

On the 13th trip, they said they found the problems as well as a new oil leak.  It would cost us over $5,000 for the oil leak and $2,500 for the lights because NOW the car was just out of warranty.  Texas has no specific laws dealing with incompetent mechanics.  Although the problems started under warranty, that makes no difference.  Once the car is out of warranty it is a "get out of jail free" card.  General Motors, the BBB, and the Lemon Laws won't help once it falls out of warranty. 

Is this a scam?  Or buffoonery?  Public records shows numerous lawsuits against Covert for Deceptive Trade Practices, including cause #GN4-00250 in the 126th Judicial District Austin TX where the Plaintiff alleges they sold him a truck as new, but discovered later it had been previously wrecked and repaired.  Defendant's answer was not to deny that, but rather there should be no claim because they refunded Plaintiff's money. "This tender by Covert and acceptance by plaintiff constitutes an accord and satisfaction."  Just before going to trial by jury, the case settled out of court for an undisclosed sum in 2008. 

Our mistake was to continue to rely on the good will of Covert.  We should have escalated our concerns as soon as practical while it was still under warranty.  The purpose of this report is to warn buyers they should immediately escalate any warranty issues - contact GM directly, the BBB, or take it to another warranty dealer immediately.  Don't wait!  And there are many other reputable dealers in Central Texas - if you are shopping at one of the Covert lots - "BUYER BEWARE!"  Get everything in writing and have a trusted mechanic inspect any car before purchasing.